


The Window to Discovery

by SlantedKnitting



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bondage, Edgeplay, Light Bondage, M/M, Modern Era, Orgasm Control
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-25
Updated: 2019-04-25
Packaged: 2020-01-31 22:28:45
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,649
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18600670
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SlantedKnitting/pseuds/SlantedKnitting
Summary: Arthur knows he's vanilla, and he's perfectly fine with that. Until Gwaine comes back to their flat gushing about being tied down during sex, and suddenly that's all Arthur can think about.





	The Window to Discovery

Arthur finished tucking in the sheets at the bottom of his bed and then collapsed on it, breathing in the scent of his freshly laundered linens and taking a moment to relax after a day of unpacking.

“Oi, princess!”

Arthur sighed and lifted his head to see his flatmate, Gwaine, standing in the doorway.

“What?”

“I’m ordering pizza, do you want some?”

“Obviously.”

Gwaine made a rude gesture and walked away, leaving Arthur to enjoy his new room.

Arthur rolled over and stared up at his ceiling, thinking fondly of stuffing his face full of greasy pizza before getting into bed and sleeping off the day’s work. He was sore all over.

Needing something to distract himself lest he fall asleep before dinner, Arthur pulled out his mobile and looked through his screens, searching for an app to open. He settled on Grindr, thinking he might as well acquaint himself with the new pool of local men.

He scrolled through the app for a while, favouriting a few profiles for later. Not that he ever messaged anyone. He responded to most of the messages sent his way, but he never bothered to make the first move. It was incredibly rare he even thought about sending the first message. Most of the guys on the app were attractive and amusing, but Arthur almost never came across a profile that interested him enough to actually reach out.

The new local batch wasn’t much different. There were a few men who were extra hot, and Arthur favourited them in case he ever decided to make a move, but mostly everyone was the same.

Deciding to check one last profile before going to bother Gwaine about their food, Arthur opened one belonging to a man with a bright smile and floppy dark hair.

His profile was sparse—it listed his height, a few series he liked, and some emojis Arthur couldn’t interpret. The rest of his photos were interesting. The man—Emrys, his profile said—had very crinkly eyes when he smiled. And very blue eyes. And very large ears, which Arthur couldn’t decide if he liked. He wasn’t ridiculously built like a lot of the other men Arthur had looked at, but he seemed fit. He was handsome, and Arthur liked the various stages of messy hair that his photos showed off. And his facial hair—in some photos he was clean-shaven, in others he had some nice stubble, and in others he had a tightly trimmed beard. He looked good regardless.

“Hey,” Gwaine said, appearing in the doorway again. “I’m going to watch _Star Wars_ to christen our new home. You in?”

Closing out of Grindr, Arthur put his mobile in his pocket and got off his bed to go join Gwaine in the living room.

 

~~~~

 

The next night, Arthur was up on a step ladder in front of his windows, trying to install curtain rods. He was having a hard time getting them to stay straight as he screwed them into the wall, but he didn’t have a level, and Gwaine wasn’t home to help.

“Ugh,” he groaned when he dropped a screw. Heaving a sigh, he climbed down from the ladder and bent down to search the floor.

It seemed to have disappeared, rolled away under some box or piece of furniture, so Arthur retrieved another one from his tool kit and turned back to the window.

The sun was setting, and it looked nice outside. He admired his new view for a moment, taking in the outline of the buildings against the colourful sky.

Then he noticed the man in the window of a block of flats a few streets over. He was lounging across his windowsill, his back against the frame and his legs stretched out in front of him.

He was naked, and he was thoroughly enjoying his nakedness for all to see.

Arthur blinked and looked away, thinking that the man must have believed he had some sort of privacy. But, then again, how could anyone assume privacy when sat in front of windows?

Arthur looked back at the man, taking in his thin form and the long line of his cock. He was far enough away that Arthur couldn’t really see all the details—the man looked pale and his hair looked dark, and he was definitely naked, but that was really all Arthur could tell for sure—but he could see the man moving his hand over his dick, tossing his head back against the wall, arching into his touch.

The man turned his head towards the window, looking over at Arthur’s block of flats, and Arthur ducked. The man must have seen him. Even if he hadn’t seen Arthur right away, Arthur’s very graceful escape must have caught his attention. He must know that someone had been watching.

His heart pounding, Arthur lifted his head and peeked out the window.

The man was still there, but his head was thrown back again, and he was—

Arthur swallowed heavily as he watched the man shaking and coming all over his stomach. It was a glorious picture. His back was arched and his mouth was stretched open and his toes were curling.

He slumped against the window after a moment, his chest heaving. Arthur stayed crouched, watching, until the man got up and disappeared into his flat.

Arthur stood slowly, wondering what the hell had just happened. He had been putting up curtains—a perfectly innocent activity—and how he was rock hard and aching for a wank.

“Fucking perv,” he muttered, palming his cock through his jeans. He couldn’t believe he was turned on from watching a perfect stranger bringing himself off in a window.

Deciding he couldn’t reasonably indulge without grossing himself out more, Arthur went back to installing the curtain rod, thinking that he definitely needed curtains with neighbours like that.

 

~~~~

 

The next Friday, Arthur let Gwaine persuade him to go out to the nearest club, which happened to be having a queer themed night. The place was full of sweaty, glittery, half-naked men, and Gwaine was out of sight as soon as he had a drink in hand.

Left to fend for himself, Arthur loitered near the bar, sipping at his beer and watching the crowd.

“Here alone?”

Arthur looked over at the man who had spoken and was almost certain he recognised him from Grindr.

“With a friend,” Arthur explained. “He abandoned me.”

“Some friend,” the man said.

Arthur shrugged and finished off his beer.

“Do you want to dance?” the man asked, stepping into Arthur’s personal space.

Arthur considered the offer. He had been thinking about just going home and leaving Gwaine to his own machinations. But this man was attractive, and the beer was starting to hit him, and he might as well make the most of the night.

“Sure,” Arthur said, and he let the man guide him into the throng.

The music was loud, the bass line thumping heavily in Arthur’s chest, and he gave himself over to the moment. The man he was dancing with took the lead, pulling Arthur against himself and grinding their crotches together. Arthur went with it, holding on to the man’s back and building up a rhythm.

“What’s your name?” the man asked, shouting to be heard over the music.

“Spike,” Arthur said for some reason.

The man looked skeptical but didn’t press the point.

“What’s yours?” Arthur asked.

“Do you really want to know, _Spike_?”

“No,” Arthur said, smiling to soften the blow.

The man laughed and pulled Arthur closer, and Arthur bore down on his thigh. They were both hard, and Arthur wondered if he should give the man his real name and take him home for the night.

When one song bled into the next one, the man turned Arthur around, grabbing his waist and pulling his arse back against his own crotch. Arthur arched his back, rolling his arse against the man’s cock. The man slid his hands lower, to Arthur’s thighs, and Arthur reached behind himself to hold onto the man’s arse as they danced.

Then Arthur noticed Gwaine nearby, some man’s face buried in his neck. It looked like he was having a very good time.

Gwaine’s dance partner lifted his head after a moment, and Arthur was struck with confusing recognition. He knew that man. He thought he knew that man. He was pretty sure he knew that man.

He had no idea why or how or from where he knew that man, but he was definitely familiar. He had high cheekbones and a wide smile and—large ears.

It was the man from Grindr that Arthur had been looking at the first night in the new flat.

“Hey.”

The man Arthur was dancing with let go of his waist, and Arthur turned around to see him kissing another man in greeting.

“This is my boyfriend,” he explained, and Arthur’s hopes for the evening went down the drain. “This here is Spike.”

“Nice to meet you, Spike,” the boyfriend said. His smile was kind, unthreatened, and Arthur wondered if an offer of a threesome was about to come his way.

He decided he wasn’t up for that. One person had always been enough for him.

“Hi,” he said. “I’m going to get another drink.”

“Be sure to come back,” the man said.

Arthur nodded and made his way back to the bar. Then he continued past the bar, down the stairs, and out onto the street. He walked home as quickly as he could, the breeze doing wonders on cooling him down, and crawled into bed as soon as he was changed into pyjamas.

Against his better judgement, Arthur went through Grindr until he came across Gwaine’s dance partner’s profile. His name was Emrys, Arthur recalled. He was still cute.

Tossing his mobile off the edge of his bed, Arthur shoved his face in his pillow and tried to go to sleep without giving a second thought to what Gwaine and Emrys might be getting up to.

 

~~~~

 

In the morning, Gwaine wasn’t home and Arthur’s mobile’s battery was dead. He plugged it in as he made himself a fry-up, leaving the leftovers for Gwaine, and settled down on the sofa to find something to watch on the telly.

Eventually, well after Arthur was done with his breakfast, the front door open and Gwaine walked in looking laughably dishevelled.

“How was your night?” Arthur asked, trying to be polite.

“So fucking hot,” Gwaine said, slumping against the door to close it. “I met the kinkiest guy.”

“Oh?” Arthur asked, trying to reconcile that with Emrys’s rather tame Grindr profile.

“Let me just say—handcuffs.” Gwaine held up his hands. “I need to invest in some.”

Arthur had nothing to say to that.

“How was your night?” Gwaine asked, stepping away from the door. “Find any hot lads?”

“One,” Arthur said. “He had a boyfriend, though.”

“Doesn’t sound like that was a problem.”

“No, but I’m not as kinky as you are.”

“Shame,” Gwaine said around a yawn. “You’re missing out.”

“Clearly,” Arthur muttered. Then, “There’s breakfast in the kitchen if you want.”

“Oh, thanks,” Gwaine said, immediately heading for it.

“You’re welcome,” Arthur sighed and turned back to the telly.

He didn’t want to be jealous. He and Gwaine were very different people. Gwaine was the type to roll with BDSM and threesomes at the drop of a hat, and Arthur just wasn’t. He didn’t think that was a bad thing, but sometimes it was hard to see Gwaine having such a good time when he barely ever managed to pull.

 

~~~~

 

Later that afternoon, Arthur was reading on his bed and struggling to say awake. His book was boring, the album he had been listening to had ended at least 20 minutes ago, and he didn’t have the lights on. It was a perfect set-up for a nice nap.

But he didn’t want to nap, because that would mean he wouldn’t be able to get to sleep at a reasonable hour that night, so Arthur stood to open his curtains and let in some natural light.

He tried not to, but he looked out at the next block of flats, and—

“Holy shit,” Arthur muttered.

The man was there, wanking in full view, again.

Arthur’s cock immediately twitched with interest. He swallowed, trying to get up the motivation to turn away.

He shouldn’t watch.

He didn’t know this man, and it was a private moment, and he shouldn’t watch.

Except the man obviously wanted to be watched, right? Why else would he sprawl out in front of his windows for everyone to see? Surely he had to know that he might get caught.

The man reached down with his free hand to play with his balls, and Arthur bit down on his lip, hard.

He was clearly enjoying himself, taking it slow and drawing it out.

Arthur watched, hesitantly, taking in the full picture. He could see a plant further into the man’s flat, and it looked like there were curtains pushed to either side of the window, proving the point that the man was definitely doing this on purpose.

Arthur couldn’t imagine stripping down in front of his windows for all of London to see. He wasn’t shy, but he didn’t think he would find it sexy to bare himself that way. It was strange to think that someone would get turned on by that, that someone would have that as their kink.

Then again, he couldn’t really imagine having anything as a kink. He thought back to his conversation with Gwaine and wondered what it would be like to put handcuffs on someone or to tie them down.

It was just as strange a thought as getting naked in front of the windows. Arthur liked sex—he even liked it rough sometimes—but he had never explored any kinks. He had a hard time imagining himself even being bold enough to whip out a sex toy. None of his partners had ever asked for anything like that.

Apparently Gwaine didn’t have any hesitations. Although, maybe he had been the one to be handcuffed.

Arthur’s cock jerked at the thought of being tied up, and he palmed himself hesitantly. He imagined someone putting handcuffs on him, rendering him unable to use his hands on himself or his partner, and he found that he liked the thought. It was a more comfortable fantasy than the opposite.

The man in the window turned his head, looking outside, and Arthur fought the urge to duck again. He couldn’t tell if the man could see him. He almost wished that the man did see him—it was sort of thrilling to be caught watching the show.

After a moment, the man looked away again, and Arthur held his breath as the man came. He arched into it again, his hips lifting off the windowsill, and Arthur could almost see the streaks of cum pumping out of his cock.

The man rested for a moment, his hands crossed over the mess on his stomach, and then he got up and walked into his flat, out of sight.

Arthur closed the curtains, locked his door, and shucked off his clothes. He got back on his bed and stroked his dick with one hand, reaching down to pull on his balls with the other. He thought about the strange man in the window putting handcuffs on Arthur’s wrists, and strapping him down, and lavishing him while he was immobilised, and it didn’t take long at all for Arthur to come.

 

~~~~

 

Arthur tried to go through the rest of his weekend and the next week as normally as possible, but he couldn’t stop thinking about the man in the window. Or the idea of him strapping Arthur down and having his way with him. Those thoughts distracted him on his commute, during work meetings, at the gym, while he was watching telly—everywhere. It felt like he couldn’t go more than a few hours without thinking about it.

And when he was home at night, free to indulge in his fantasies, he was getting off faster than usual. He kept trying to slow down, to enjoy it, but his thoughts kept getting carried away, and he always came before he could stop himself.

He had never before considered that he had a kink.

He had no idea what to do with the information.

He almost— _almost_ —considered asking Gwaine, but he knew Gwaine would laugh, and he wasn’t ready to face that yet.

So, instead, one night he searched for ‘light bondage’ on his favourite porn site and hesitantly scrolled through the results.

It seemed like ‘light’ was a relative term. There were videos of people in full body suits strapped down on tables, videos of very elaborate rope work, and videos of people tied up in sex swings.

Arthur didn’t think he wanted any of that. He just wanted to see someone getting jerked off while their hands were tied up.

He found a few promising videos and loaded them up, ready to see how other people explored this particular kink.

The first video was of a long, skinny man, fully naked, with his arms tied behind his back. A man with all his clothes on was jerking him off, slowly and teasingly and so good. It was so good. It was exactly what Arthur wanted, and he had to sit on his hands to keep from touching himself.

The next few videos were more of the same, and Arthur only lasted until the fourth one before he came all over himself with a grunt.

He would seriously need to consider how to get someone to do that to him.

 

~~~~

 

“You’ve been spending an awful lot of time in your room,” Gwaine said one night when they were watching telly together. “What kind of pervy stuff are you getting up to?”

Arthur knew that Gwaine didn’t mean it. That was how he always talked, and he had no way of knowing that Arthur actually was getting up to pervy stuff.

That didn’t stop Arthur from blushing, though.

“Nothing,” he said, his eyes trained on the telly. “Just been reading.”

“Yeah? Anything good?”

Arthur struggled to remember the book he had been reading before he’d seen the man in the window that second time.

“Not really.”

“You’re so boring,” Gwaine complained, and Arthur had to agree.

 

~~~~

 

The next night, Arthur was scrolling through his quickly growing list of favourited videos on the porn site, trying to decide what he wanted to watch.

As he scrolled, he glanced at the usernames and realised that a bunch of the same videos were by the same user, and he opened up the profile out of curiosity.

There was a decent amount of information in the profile.

 **Gender:** Male  
**Sexual Orientation:** Gay  
**Age:** 30-40  
**Ethnicity:** White/Caucasian  
**Looking For:** Male  
**Turn Ons:** Bondage, dom/sub, handcuffs, rope play, edging, orgasm control  
**Country:** United Kingdom

Under that, there was an ‘about me’ section.

**LONDON. I love edging hot guys. Bondage is a big plus. If you’re interested in a play session, please know that being filmed is not a requirement. No experience necessary.**

Arthur wondered if there was a whole community in his city that just took turns tying each other up and jerking each other off.

Then he realised that of course there was a whole community that did that. There was a community for everything, it was just that he had never considered the possibilities before.

Because, as Gwaine had so nicely put it, he was boring.

Before he could talk himself out of it, Arthur clicked the ‘message me’ link on the man’s profile.

_Hey. I’m in London, too. New to this, but maybe interested in experimenting. What’s your set up?_

Arthur closed his laptop as soon as he’d sent it, adrenaline sparking through him. He couldn’t believe he’d done that.

 

~~~~

 

It took Arthur a full week to log back into his account on the porn site. There was a video he really, really wanted to watch, but he couldn’t find it by searching, and he knew he had favourited it.

As soon as he signed in, he saw that he had two messages.

_Two._

He wondered if he would be able to just delete them without reading them. Hoping for the best, Arthur clicked on the little envelope icon and was taken to his inbox.

The full messages, weren’t displaying, but he could see the starts of them. Both of them started with an innocent ‘Hey’.

Arthur ran through a few possibilities in his head. _Hey, please don’t message me again. Hey, I don’t play with total newbs. Hey, look elsewhere mate. Hey, what makes you think I’d be interested in you?_

“Fuck it,” Arthur said, opening the first message.

 **Hey. If you’re interested in a session, we could set up a time for you to come over. We’d negotiate what you’re interested in and what’s off limits. If you’d like to be in a video, we can discuss that, too.**.

The second message, which had been sent a few minutes after the first, read:

 **Hey again. Normally I like to get to know a guy before I invite him over. Tell me about yourself**.

Arthur took a deep breath. The man wanted to get to know Arthur. And potentially invite him over to tie him down and get him off.

He hit ‘reply’ and then stared at the blank text box until his vision blurred. He had no idea what to say. Was he supposed to write about his job, his sexual history, his HIV status, his body type, his hobbies? What information did this man need before he would consider Arthur for a ‘session’?

_Hey. I’m not sure what you’d like to know. I’m in my 30s, blond, athletic build. Just recently thinking about exploring some light bondage. I’ve never messaged anyone on here before._

When he couldn’t think of anything else to write, Arthur hit ‘send’ and went to pull up some videos to watch before he could get too caught up in his own embarrassment about the conversation.

As the first video buffered, another message appeared in his inbox.

**That’s okay! There’s a first time for everything. I’m in my 30s, brown hair, thin build. I’ve been doing this for a while. What exactly are you interested in? When’s the last time you were tested? And what’s your favourite book?**

Arthur blinked at that last question, wondering why on earth the man would want to know.

_To be honest, I’m not really sure what I’m interested in. I like the idea of having my hands tied down. Not sure I’d be up to be filmed. I got tested a few weeks ago, all clean. I don’t really have a favourite book, but I’ve been trying to read ‘A Game of Thrones’ for a while. Not too big on fantasy, it might not be for me._

Shrugging, Arthur sent off the message and went back to his videos.

Halfway through the second one, he got another message. He considered waiting until he was finished—the messages were starting to become distracting—but curiosity got the better of him.

**I happen to be an expert in tying down sexy men’s hands. And ‘A Game of Thrones’ is great, I’ve read the whole series a couple of times. You’ll get into it more as it goes on, I promise. What other genres do you like to read?**

The message came with an attachment. Arthur opened it and found a photo, presumably of the man, from the neck down. He was naked, and he was gorgeous. He was always clothed in the videos, hiding his body and focusing on his partners. But he was _gorgeous_. He had long, thin, muscular arms and long, thing, muscular legs, and a long, thin, muscular torso. His dick was hard and he had a hand wrapped around it.

Arthur grabbed his mobile and tried to take a flattering photo of himself.

It took longer than he would have liked to admit, but eventually he had one that he liked. It showed everything but his face, the lighting was decent, and he looked pretty good.

He sent if off and went back to the videos, trying to come before the response came so he would be able to focus on the conversation.

The man replied too quickly, though.

**Very nice. I like your chest hair. I’m serious about getting to know you, though.**

Arthur realised that in his haste to send off the photo, he had forgotten to answer the man’s question.

_Sorry! I’m nervous. I like non-fiction history books._

The response came just as Arthur was finally finishing the video.

**Don’t be nervous :) I’m perfectly nice (unless you want me to be mean). Have you done any bondage before?**

_Never done it before. Kind of a new idea for me._

**No problem. Do me a favour and tie one of your hands down the next time you wank. If you like it, we can keep talking. Let me know how it goes.**

Not one to disobey, Arthur grabbed a tie out of his closet and, after a lot of fumbling, managed to tie one of his hands to his bed post. He gave it a tug, and the knot held.

It was odd, not having access to one of his hands, but Arthur did his best to arrange himself on the bed with his laptop and get back to business. He loaded up the next video and stroked his dick with his free hand, watching the squirming man on his screen.

He went to use his other hand to play with his balls and gasped when he remembered he had it tied down. He couldn’t use that had. He couldn’t move that hand. He was strapped down to his bed, at his own mercy.

His cock jerked, and Arthur bit down a groan. He went back to jerking himself off, tugging on his restraint with his other hand, and came just as the knot finally loosened. He grabbed hold of the bed post, trying to maintain the illusion of being tied down, and continued stroking himself until his dick was too sensitive.

“Jesus,” he muttered, closing his eyes and trying to catch his breath.

When he came back to himself, Arthur wiped up with a tissue and hurried to respond to the man.

 _I can report that it was a success_.

Trusting that Gwaine was in his room, Arthur got up and went out to the hall to clean up properly in the loo. As he had hoped, there was a message waiting for him when he got back to his room.

**That was fast :) Anything else you’d like to know before we set something up?**

_Do I get to know your name?_

**Merlin. What’s yours?**

_Arthur._

**Pleasure to meet you, Arthur. I’m free this weekend if you want to play.**

Arthur’s heart stuttered at the thought that he was actually going to do this. Maybe he shouldn’t. Maybe Merlin was a murderer who lured unsuspecting men to their deaths with the promise of hot sex.

Arthur knew that was unlikely, but so was this entire situation. He had never done anything close to this before.

Except, he had met up with men from Grindr for one-night stands. He supposed this wasn’t entirely different. He knew more about Merlin than he knew about most of the men from Grindr. He knew that Merlin liked fantasy, he knew _a lot_ about Merlin’s specific sexual interests, and he knew that Merlin was kind of sweet.

_This weekend sounds good. Saturday?_

**Saturday. 7pm.**

Merlin sent his address, and Arthur looked it up quickly. He was less than a 10 minute walk away. Arthur wondered if they’d ever crossed each other on the pavement before. They probably frequented the same coffee shops. Maybe Merlin had been to the club Arthur and Gwaine had gone to the other week. Maybe Merlin had been there that very night.

 

~~~~

 

On Saturday, Arthur spent the whole day walking around the neighbourhood, trying to calm his nerves.

He had no idea what he was doing.

He wasn’t going to go through with it.

There was no way he was going over to a stranger’s house to be tied down and jerked off.

Except, every time he thought about it, warmth pooled in his stomach and he had to think about something else before he got hard in public.

He really, really wanted it.

He wasn’t going to go through with it.

“Fuck,” Arthur muttered on his fifteenth time around the block.

If he didn’t go through with it, he would never forgive himself.

If he _did_ go through with it, then… then… then’d be tied down while Merlin jerked him off.

At 6pm, Arthur went home to shower. Afterwards, he realised he had no idea how to dress.

Ultimately, it didn’t matter. He was going to be naked soon enough. But he didn’t want to show up looking too formal or too casual or like he was trying too hard.

Eventually, when he was getting crunched for time, he settled on jeans and his brightest white t-shirt.

“Where are you off to?” Gwaine asked when Arthur emerged from his room. “And where have you been all day?”

“Meeting up with a friend,” Arthur said as he shrugged on his jacket. “What are you doing tonight?”

“You’re looking at it.”

Gwaine was sat in front of the telly watching _Bake Off_.

“Enjoy,” Arthur said before heading out.

He circled his block of flats once, just to give himself another few minutes to calm down, and then he headed to Merlin’s address.

Merlin had messaged his mobile number the day before, and Arthur texted him when he arrived at the building.

_It’s Arthur. I’m here._

There was no response, but after a minute the front door opened, and—

It was Emrys. From Grindr. From _Gwaine_.

“Oh,” Arthur said.

Merlin frowned. “Oh?”

“Oh. Um. Hi.”

“Hi. Everything all right?”

Arthur nodded. “Still nervous.”

Merlin smiled and held the door open, letting Arthur inside.

“Did you find the place okay?” Merlin asked as he led the way to the lifts.

“Yeah. I live like 10 minutes away.”

“Oh? That’s convenient.”

“Mhm.”

They got into a lift, and Arthur leaned against the back wall and took a deep breath.

“We’re not going to do anything you don’t want,” Merlin said gently. “I promise. Anything you’re not comfortable with is off the table.”

Arthur nodded. He believed Merlin. That didn’t change the fact that he was nervous. And it didn’t change the fact that he knew Merlin had slept with Gwaine. He’d used his handcuffs on Gwaine.

“This is me,” Merlin said when the lift dinged and came to a stop. He led Arthur down the hall and into a flat about halfway down.

“It’s nice,” Arthur said once they were inside. Merlin had a wide open space, with a kitchen off to one side and a large living room. The windowsill was deep, and—

Arthur gulped at the thought that Merlin might be the man Arthur had been wanking over. But there were plants all along the sill, and all the other flats in this building probably had the same deep windowsills. What were the chances that Merlin was the same exhibitionist Arthur had seen from his room?

“So,” Merlin said, closing the door behind them. “Can I get you some water?” Arthur shook his head. “No? Alright, how about a beer? Something to take the edge off?” Arthur shook his head again. “A snack?”

Arthur smiled. “No, thank you. I’m fine. I’m just…”

“Nervous. Well, let’s see if we can fix that. I’m serious about not doing anything you don’t want, which means we have to figure out what you do want.”

“I want…” Arthur licked his lips. “My hands tied down.”

“Feet?” Merlin asked, and Arthur shook his head. “Alright. Blindfold?” Arthur shook his head again. “Just the hands then.”

Arthur nodded. “Yeah. If that’s all right.”

Merlin flashed him a grin, his eyes crinkling up. “That’s perfect. Anything strictly off limits?”

“I don’t know,” Arthur admitted. “I’ve never done anything like this before. What do you have in mind?”

“I just want to know if there’s anything you don’t like. Some guys don’t like their arse being touched, some are sensitive about their nipples, some are very picky about what lube I use.”

“Oh. Um… nothing like that.”

“No lube brand preference?” Arthur shook his head. “Nipples are safe?” Arthur nodded. “Arse is safe?”

Arthur paused, wondering if he should restrict his first time to just his cock. But he’d seen Merlin’s videos, and he wanted the full experience.

“Arse is safe,” he decided.

“Blowjobs?” Arthur nodded. “Kissing?”

Arthur blinked. He genuinely hadn’t thought about that. He had assumed Merlin would just strap him down and be done with it. He hadn’t ever factored in kissing.

“You can say no,” Merlin said, smiling.

“No. I mean—no, it’s fine. Kissing’s fine.”

“All right. Are you sure I can’t get you water or anything?”

“Water,” Arthur said. “Thank you.”

“Of course.”

Merlin stepped into the kitchen to fill up two glasses, and Arthur shrugged off his jacket and draped it over one of the kitchen chairs. Merlin passed a glass to Arthur, and Arthur took a long gulp.

“Do you have any questions for me?” Merlin asked.

Arthur shrugged. “How often do you do this?”

“As often as I can,” Merlin said with a smile. “Just depends on who messages me and what they want.”

“Do you have a lot of repeat, um…”

“Friends,” Merlin supplied. “Not a lot. Some.”

“What do you normally do?”

Merlin raised an eyebrow. “You know exactly what I do.”

“No, I mean, like… is it all one-sided? Do you… do you do anything?”

“Not really. I mean, guys can’t really do much with their hands tied down.”

“And… after?”

Merlin shrugged. “I just let them leave. I enjoy myself after they’re gone. If I filmed it, I usually watch that back.”

“So, I’m not allowed…”

“You’re allowed,” Merlin said with a smirk. “You just won’t be able to.”

“Right.”

“Is that all right?” Arthur nodded. “Are you sure?”

Arthur nodded again and set down his glass. “I’m sure.”

“All right,” Merlin said, and he stepped forward for a kiss.

It was awkward at first, and all Arthur could think about was Merlin and Gwaine grinding at that club. Then Merlin brushed his tongue against Arthur’s lips, and Arthur gasped and leaned into the kiss. Merlin had very nice lips, and he kissed like he _really_ wanted Arthur.

And maybe he did. Maybe he was looking forward to ‘enjoying himself’ after Arthur left.

Arthur moved a little closer, and Merlin got a hand in his hair. He tugged a little, and Arthur moaned.

“What else do you like?” Merlin asked, his lips still pressed to Arthur’s.

“What?”

“What else besides bondage?” Merlin grabbed Arthur’s wrist with his other hand and held it tightly at Arthur’s side. Arthur cock jerked in response. “What else do you like?”

“Um.”

“Yeah?”

Arthur closed his eyes. “The normal stuff? I’m… this is the first… I’ve never—”

Merlin cut him off with a kiss. “That’s all right. Just let me know if you don’t like anything, all right? Let’s have a safe word.”

“Do we need one?”

“Doesn’t hurt. How about ‘dragon’?”

“Dragon,” Arthur repeated, committing it to memory. “Dragon. Okay. And I say that when…”

“When you want something to stop. I mean, you can also say ‘stop’, and I’ll stop. But sometimes people like to shout out ‘stop’ without really meaning it.”

“I don’t think I’m one of those people.”

“Probably not,” Merlin said with a smile. He trailed his fingers down Arthur’s front and flicked open the button on his jeans. “This all right?”

Arthur nodded, and Merlin undid his flies. He pushed Arthur’s jeans down, and Arthur kicked off his shoes so he could step out of them. He reached for Merlin’s shirt, but Merlin stopped him.

“My clothes stay on,” he said gently. “Okay?”

Arthur nodded, flushing. He had forgotten that Merlin was always clothed in his videos.

“Okay,” Merlin whispered before pulling off Arthur’s shirt, leaving him just in his pants. “I liked that picture you sent me,” he said, tracing the line of hair under Arthur’s navel. “You’re even better in person.”

“I liked your picture, too.”

“Yeah?” Merlin smiled. “Just a little something to keep you interested.”

He kissed Arthur again, cupping him through his pants, and Arthur moaned. He was still nervous, but Merlin was doing a good job of warming him up, and it didn’t take very long for him to get hard.

“Can I?” Merlin asked, slipping his fingers under the waistband of Arthur’s pants.

Arthur nodded and let Merlin push his pants down to the floor.

“Gorgeous,” Merlin murmured before kissing Arthur again.

They carried on for a while, with Merlin alternating between holding down Arthur’s wrists and playing with his dick, until Arthur was panting.

“Are you ready?” Merlin asked, giving Arthur’s wrists a squeeze.

Arthur nodded, and Merlin stepped away. He opened up a cupboard and took out what looked to be a massage table.

“Hop on,” he said once he had it set up.

Arthur sat on it carefully, and Merlin gently pushed on his shoulders until he was lying down.

“Good?” Merlin asked, leaning down for a kiss.

“Good,” Arthur confirmed. He felt awkward lying there—especially since he was naked while Merlin was still fully clothed—but he was ready.

Merlin went back to the cupboard and came back with two strips of cloth.

“Arms by your sides. Tell me if this too tight,” he said as he knelt down to strap one of Arthur’s arms to the table.

“It’s good,” Arthur said, giving his restraints a tug. They were tight but not uncomfortable, and he loved the resistance.

Merlin pressed a kiss to Arthur’s thigh before circling the table to strap down his other hand.

“How’s that?”

Arthur gave his other hand a tug, and his cock jerked when he realised he was well and truly strapped down.

“Good,” he managed.

Merlin grinned and reached out to palm Arthur’s dick. Arthur gasped as Merlin slowly closed his fingers around him. He started off slowly, his grip tight, and Arthur found himself arching up into it.

“Need to strap your hips down,” Merlin teased, pressing down on Arthur’s side until he was flush against the table.

“Sorry.”

Merlin grinned and leaned down for a kiss. “Don’t apologise. Are you enjoying yourself?”

Arthur pulled against his restraints, his heart pounding at the reminder that he couldn’t move. “Very.”

“Good.” Merlin kissed down Arthur’s neck, then his chest, and then his stomach.

Arthur closed his eyes and bit down a gasp when Merlin sank his mouth down around his cock. He tried to get his hands in Merlin’s hand, but his hands were still strapped down, and the struggle just turned him on more.

“Merlin,” he warned.

Merlin pulled off and shifted up to give Arthur a kiss. “Not yet.”

Arthur whimpered as his cock jerked, seeking release. “Hold on,” he breathed when Merlin reached for him again.

Merlin smirked and tugged on his balls instead.

“Okay,” Arthur said when he was back under control.

Merlin continued playing with Arthur’s balls, rolling them between his fingers and squeezing them gently. Arthur closed his eyes and sighed, loving it but wanting more.

After a minute or so, Merlin pushed his hand lower, spreading Arthur’s legs open. He dragged a fingertip over Arthur’s hole, and Arthur huffed.

“Sit tight,” Merlin said, pulling his hand away.

Arthur opened his eyes to see Merlin back at the cupboard. When he came back to the massage table, he had a bottle of lube with him. Arthur watched, pulling against his restraints a little, as Merlin spread the lube over his fingers.

“This okay?” Merlin asked, moving his hand back to Arthur’s arse.

Arthur nodded, and Merlin pressed a finger against him. It was just a tease at first, just a hint of what was to come, and then he pushed in. Arthur bit down a grunt but then nearly cried out when Merlin started sucking him again, pumping his finger in and out in time with the bobbing of his head.

“Jesus,” Arthur muttered, closing his eyes again. Merlin was _very_ good at this.

Too good, really. Arthur felt his orgasm rising again, and he squirmed to try to stop it. His hands jerked in their restraints, holding him in place, and he whimpered.

“Merlin,” he warned.

“Mhm,” Merlin murmured in response, his mouth stuffed full of Arthur’s cock.

Arthur wasn’t sure if that was encouragement to come, but he didn’t want this to be over so soon.

“Stop,” he said. “Dragon.”

Merlin stilled his finger and pulled off with a slurp, grinning. “You remembered,” he said, sounding pleased.

“Remembered…?”

“The safe word. Most people forget their first time.”

“I have a good memory.”

Merlin smiled and gave Arthur’s cock a few strokes, making Arthur jerk.

“Not yet,” he said, trying to twist his hips out of Merlin’s reach. It was a pointless movement, but Merlin relented and pulled his hand away.

“Want to try something else?” Merlin asked.

“Like what?”

“Leather cuffs.”

Arthur’s dick throbbed, leaking a little, and Merlin smiled widely.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” he said, going back to the cupboard. When he came back, he untied one of Arthur’s hands only to press it down on the table next to Arthur’s head. He fastened the cuff around Arthur’s wrist and locked the other end to the table.

Arthur gave an experimental tug as Merlin set up his other hand. He felt much more exposed in this position, his arms up and his cock completely out of reach.

“Fuck,” he muttered, his hips shifting against nothing. He couldn’t move, and he loved it, and he was desperate for Merlin to continue. “Fuck, please, Merlin.”

Merlin smirked and spread lube over both hands before returning his attention to Arthur’s cock. He lavished it, stroking with both hands or using one hand on his balls, and after a few minutes he fell into a rhythm that kept Arthur right on the edge.

Arthur couldn’t stop moving. He was grinding his hips down against the table and up against Merlin’s hands, trying to get more, trying to get control, trying not to come. And his arms were straining against the leather cuffs, reminding Arthur that he had no control and pushing him closer to the edge each time he heard the other end of the cuffs clang against the metal legs of the table.

“Merlin,” he said when Merlin ducked down to suck on the tip of his dick. “Don’t, don’t—”

Merlin pulled off, straightening up and giving Arthur a rough kiss instead.

“Enjoying yourself?” he asked, moving his hand a little faster over Arthur’s cock.

Arthur just whimpered, lifting his hips and pushing into Merlin’s fist. Merlin used his free hand to push him back down on the table.

“God, you’re hot,” Merlin said quietly, brushing his fingers over Arthur’s hard nipples.

Arthur’s heart throbbed and he squirmed again, trying to get closer to Merlin. He needed something to distract himself from the relentless onslaught of Merlin’s hand on his dick. He wanted to touch Merlin, to get him to the same messy place he was, to tie him down and tease him until he was begging.

Arthur grunted as Merlin went back to sucking on his cock. He closed his eyes and imagined their positions reversed, and found that it was a much more appetising image than it had been before. He liked the idea of Merlin being the one without control. He wanted to see Merlin’s cock hard and thick and red, begging for attention. He wanted to push Merlin to the edge over and over and over again.

“Fuck,” Arthur gasped, pulling against his restraints as Merlin pushed two fingers into him.

A button snapped open on one of the cuffs and Arthur bent his wrist, trying pointlessly to fix it. He struggled for a moment, pulling on it awkwardly, and then the other button popped and his wrist was free.

For a moment, Arthur was about to tell Merlin so it could be fixed, but then he thought better of it and propped himself up on his elbow. He reached across the table and grabbed hold one of Merlin’s belt loops.

Merlin paused, looking down at Merlin’s hand on his jeans.

“How did you—”

“Magic,” Arthur said, undoing Merlin’s flies. He shoved his hand inside Merlin’s pants and found his dick hard and hot and damp near the tip.

Merlin exhaled shakily as Arthur stroked him, his own grip on Arthur’s cock faltering.

“Is this okay?” Arthur asked, looking up at Merlin’s flushed face.

Merlin nodded, biting his lip, so Arthur continued. It was an awkward angle, but he didn’t care. He had something to distract himself and found that he much preferred being able to reciprocate the attention, and he liked the quiet sounds Merlin was making as he worked him over.

Merlin continued his own work, pulling on Arthur’s cock with both his hands, and, even though it felt good, it didn’t distract Arthur from his mission. It only served to make him want more.

Rolling over on his side, Arthur pushed down Merlin’s clothes as best he could and, wrapping his arm around Merlin’s waist, curled forward to get Merlin’s dick in his mouth.

Merlin gasped, his grip loosening for a moment before he resumed stroking with a sure, steady, quick pace. Arthur groaned, and Merlin pressed a lube-slick hand to Arthur’s back, leaving his other on Arthur’s cock. Arthur took that as a sign that he liked what Arthur was doing, and he shifted closer to get access to more of Merlin.

Despite his initial surge of interest in Merlin’s cock, eventually Arthur’s attention shifted back to his own. Merlin was jerking him off with a sloppy speed, and he could tell he was getting close again.

“Merlin,” he whispered, pulling off Merlin’s cock just enough to talk.

“Mhm,” Merlin responded, his voice high and tight.

“Stop.”

Merlin slowed down but didn’t stop completely, and Arthur started shifting his hips again, trying to hold back. When it seemed like Merlin had no interest in letting Arthur get his way, Arthur returned his mouth to Merlin’s dick and started sucking in earnest.

Merlin gasped and then, with a muffled groan, came, flooding Arthur’s mouth. Arthur licked him through it, loving his ragged breathing, until Merlin stepped away. He tucked himself back in and calmly lubed his hands up again before resuming his teasing of Arthur’s cock.

Arthur flopped back down on the table and, when Merlin redirected his hands to Arthur’s arse and balls, reached down with his free hand to stroke himself.

Surprisingly, Merlin let him, and it wasn’t long before Arthur was arching up into it. Merlin had two fingers buried in his arse, one hand wrapped securely around his balls, and Arthur couldn’t hold back from jerking off as hard and fast as he could stand.

He wanted to come. He _needed_ to come. This had been going on for far too long, and he was quickly losing the will to prolong it any more.

Just as he was about to let Merlin know that he was going to come, Merlin pushed his hand away and sank his mouth down around his cock instead.

“Merlin!” Arthur cried out, forcing himself to hold back just a little bit longer. “Merlin, I’m—”

That was all he managed to get out before it hit him at full force. Merlin crooked his fingers in Arthur’s arse, swallowed around the head of Arthur’s cock, and Arthur came with a low, long, wild groan.

“Merlin,” he whispered as it subsided, and Merlin pulled off slowly, Arthur’s dick still pulsing gently in his mouth. He pulled his fingers out and gave Arthur’s balls one last tug before standing up and looking down at what he’d done.

“Well?” Merlin asked, sounding unsure.

“That was—” Arthur reached out and grabbed Merlin’s shirt, pulling him down for a hard kiss. “That was amazing.”

Merlin smiled and gave Arthur’s thigh a squeeze before dropping to his knees to undo Arthur’s last restraint. When he stood back up, he seemed to be all business.

“I’ll let you get dressed,” he said. “I’m going to go wash my hands.”

“Okay,” Arthur said, sitting up and watching Merlin disappear into the loo. “Okay,” he said again, wondering if he’d done something wrong. Maybe Merlin hadn’t really meant it when he said that Arthur would be allowed to touch him. Maybe he hadn’t appreciated the blowjob.

But he hadn’t stopped Arthur. Surely the safe word thing worked both ways. And Arthur had asked if it was okay, and Merlin had indicated that it was.

Maybe Merlin was just generally awkward after sex.

Arthur stood and stretched out his arms before pulling his clothes back on. Merlin came out a minute later and avoided making eye contact.

“Did you have a good time?” he asked, going back over to his water glass and taking a long gulp.

“You know I did,” Arthur said. “Did you? Did I do something wrong?”

“Not at all,” Merlin said. He smiled, but he still didn’t quite meet Arthur’s gaze.

“All right,” Arthur said slowly. “Well… thank you. That was… that was incredible for my first time doing something like this. Thanks for making me feel comfortable.”

“You’re welcome.” He took another sip of water. “I’m glad you were comfortable.”

Arthur was distinctly uncomfortable with the aftermath, though, and he decided he wanted to leave before it got any more awkward.

“Do you need any help cleaning up?”

“No,” Merlin said, smiling politely. “Thank you. You’re welcome to leave whenever.”

Arthur remembered looking forward to this moment, wanting to imagine Merlin enjoying himself after Arthur’s departure. Now he was looking forward to getting back to his own flat and trying to erase this conversation from his memory.

“Well… thanks again,” Arthur said, heading towards the door. “I really appreciate it.”

“Anytime,” Merlin said, although it didn’t seem like he meant it.

Arthur wondered if they should shake hands or something but decided against it. He opened the door and stepped out into the hall.

“Have a nice night,” he said.

Merlin gave a wave. “Thanks. You, too.”

Arthur nodded and walked down the hall to the lifts, ready to get away.

 

~~~~

 

On Sunday, Arthur was still trying to overcome his embarrassment from the way the night before had ended. He’d had such a good time, and it was definitely something he was going to seek out in the future, if not from Merlin. It had been everything he had hoped for—and more, especially considering he’d been able to get his hands on Merlin. But as soon as he’d come, it had turned into a disaster. Merlin hadn’t wanted him to stick around, and Arthur hadn’t know what to say or do to make up for whatever mistake he’d made.

It was a shame, really. Arthur would have happily gone back to Merlin’s for another session if it hadn’t ended so terribly. Now he was going to have to continue experimenting on his own. Maybe he would invest in a pair of those leather cuffs and tie one of his hands down properly while he wanked.

The thought made his dick jerk with interest, which was awkward because he was sat on the sofa with Gwaine, watching football.

Arthur cleared his throat and tried to focus on the match.

“Do you mind if I have company?” Gwaine asked during an advert.

“No.”

Neither of them had had any men over since they’d moved in, and naturally Gwaine would be the first one to introduce sex to the flat. Arthur was frankly surprised he’d managed as long as he had.

“Thanks.”

Arthur looked over and saw Gwaine tapping away at his mobile, presumably inviting over the man he was going to sleep with. He sighed and wondered how he should spend his afternoon. He knew he could just stay in his room and pretend not to hear whatever Gwaine was getting up to, but that wasn’t exactly a tempting activity. Maybe he could go to the cinema.

“He’s coming over to watch the game,” Gwaine said, putting his mobile away.

“Should I go?” Arthur offered.

“Don’t you want to watch the match?”

The truth was that Arthur wasn’t all that invested, but he knew if he admitted that then Gwaine would know something was wrong.

“Are you sure it won’t be awkward?”

“It’s only awkward if you make it awkward.”

“Very deep,” Arthur teased.

Less than twenty minutes later, Gwaine’s mobile buzzed, and he announced that his date had arrived.

“That was fast,” Arthur said.

“He lives nearby,” Gwaine explained as he got off the sofa to go down to the front door.

When he came back, Arthur stood to introduce himself, and his stomach dropped when he saw that Gwaine’s company was _Merlin_.

“Hey,” Merlin said, looking as panicked as Arthur felt.

“Hey. Um… I’m Arthur,” he said, holding out his hand.

Merlin played along and shook it. “Merlin.”

“Match is almost over,” Gwaine said as he plopped himself down on the sofa, blissfully unaware of the tension in the room.

“I’m… going to the cinema,” Arthur said.

“I thought you wanted to finish the game?” Gwaine asked, frowning.

Arthur shrugged and walked as casually as he could manage into his room. He grabbed his wallet and his keys, ready for a long, long day away from the flat. He might even get a hotel room just to make sure he didn’t run into any trouble in case Merlin decided to stay the night.

When he came back out to the living room, Merlin was on the sofa and Gwaine had his arm draped over Merlin’s shoulders.

Arthur left without saying goodbye.

 

~~~~

 

Arthur didn’t end up getting a hotel room, but he did spend his night getting drunk at the local pub. He got back to his flat late and went straight to his room, humming to block out any potential noises coming from Gwaine’s room. He collapsed on his bed without getting into his pyjamas and fell asleep within seconds.

The next night, Arthur finally ran into Gwaine in the kitchen.

“Hey,” Gwaine said. “Where’ve you been?”

“Work.”

“I meant yesterday. I didn’t hear you come in.”

Arthur shrugged. “It was late.” He turned back to the stove where he was boiling some pasta for his dinner.

“What’d you do?”

“Cinema, like I said.”

“See anything good?” Gwaine asked.

“No.”

Gwaine scoffed. “What’s going on with you?”

“Nothing,” Arthur said. He took a deep breath and forced himself to ask, “How was your company?”

“Bad,” Gwaine said. “He left as soon as the match was over. Changed his mind.”

Arthur frowned down at his pasta. “That’s odd. Did he say why?”

“No. Just said he couldn’t do it and left.”

Arthur looked up to see Gwaine shrugging.

“I’m sorry,” Arthur said.

Gwaine rolled his eyes. “It’s fine. I managed to survive the day without getting fucked.”

Arthur smirked and turned off the stove. “Want some dinner?” he asked, and Gwaine agreed.

 

~~~~

 

The next night, Arthur decided enough time had passed since his strange encounters with Merlin, and he signed onto the porn site to see if there were any new bondage videos he could watch.

As soon as he signed in, he saw that there was a message waiting for him.

He almost didn’t check it. But he knew he wouldn’t be able to ignore the notification forever.

**Hey, Arthur. I just wanted to let you know that I didn’t know Gwaine was your mate, I wouldn’t have come over if I’d known you were going to be there. I’m sorry if I made things weird between you.**

**I feel like I owe you an explanation, especially after barging into your home like that. As you can imagine, no one has ever managed to take their turn with me before. I guess it caught me off guard. I had a stronger reaction to it than I anticipated. I know I made things awkward afterward, and I hope I haven’t turned you off experimenting for good. Usually I like to make sure everyone has the best time possible, but I was too stuck in my head.**

**So I’m sorry for making things unpleasant. I promise I won’t pursue anything more with Gwaine.**

Arthur sighed and read over the message a few times. He had no idea what Merlin meant by having a stronger reaction than anticipated.

_Thanks for reaching out. I’m sorry if I overstepped any bounds. I’ve really never done anything like that before, and I think the one-sided thing was too much for me. And you don’t have to stop seeing Gwaine on my account._

Merlin’s reply came as Arthur was scrolling through his favourited videos.

**I wasn’t seeing Gwaine. I think I’d like to see you again, though, if I didn’t scare you off.**

_You didn’t._

Arthur gave up on his search for porn and waited for Merlin’s response. He still wasn’t entirely sure what had gone wrong or what was happening now, but he liked the idea of seeing Merlin again.

**Coffee tomorrow?**

_I’m free after 6. Let’s make it dinner._

Merlin sent Arthur a text message instead of responding on the site.

**Dinner at 7? There’s an Italian place around the corner from me.**

Arthur sent back a thumbs up emoji.

 

~~~~

 

On Wednesday, Arthur met Merlin just outside his block of flats.

“Hey,” Merlin said as he came out of the building. “Thanks for agreeing to this.”

“It’s not a favour,” Arthur said. “I’m happy to spend time with you if you’re happy to spend time with me.”

“I am,” Merlin said firmly. “Shall we?”

Arthur nodded, and Merlin led the short way to the restaurant.

“So,” Arthur said after they’d managed some basic small talk and placed their orders. “I’m not sure what you meant by having a stronger reaction than you’d thought. Do you meant it… felt good, or…”

Merlin went red and took a hasty sip of his water. “I mean, obviously it felt good.” He gave Arthur a shy smile. “I meant more like… emotionally. Normally there’s, you know, nothing to have a reaction about. But it, I don’t know, it just surprised me.”

“You could have just said all that on Saturday,” Arthur pointed out.

“I realise that now. I can’t say I have a history of getting smarter after I come.”

Arthur chuckled. “Well, I’m glad you reached out. And I’m glad you’re not seeing Gwaine.”

“Me, too. To be honest, I… I only reached out to him because I was a little desperate to stop thinking about you.”

“Me?”

Merlin nodded, flushing again.

“I have a question,” Arthur said, keeping his voice low. “Do you… do you have a habit of wanking in the windows, or is that some other perv in your building?”

Merlin looked like he wanted the floor to swallow him whole. “How did you—can you _see_ me doing that?”

“Of course I can. Half of London can!”

“I thought I was far away enough from any buildings that no one would be able to tell it was me.”

“I couldn’t tell it was you. I didn’t realise until I was in your flat.”

Merlin looked down at his water glass, his ears burning bright.

“After a session,” he said quietly, “after the guy has left, I move the plants, and I… I guess I like the idea of getting caught.”

“Well, you’ve been caught,” Arthur said, grinning. “A couple of times.”

Merlin shifted in his seat, and Arthur wondered if he was getting turned on. The though of Merlin getting hard in the restaurant was hot, and Arthur shifted, too.

“So,” he said before either of them could get carried away with their thoughts. “What were you hoping would come of tonight?”

“I was… hoping you would want to play again,” Merlin said quietly. “What about you?”

“The same,” Arthur said, smiling. “Maybe if you’re lucky, I’ll become one of your repeat friends.”

Merlin frowned. “I meant…” He trailed off, looking embarrassed.

“What?” Arthur asked.

“I guess I’m also interested in more of this,” he said, gesturing around the restaurant. “Dates and whatnot.”

“What about your other ‘friends’?”

Merlin shrugged. “That’s only something I do if I’m single.”

Arthur nodded, letting that sink in. He had assumed Merlin wouldn’t be willing to give up his sessions.

“That’s good to know,” Arthur said after a moment.

“Yeah.”

Arthur knocked his foot against Merlin’s under the table, and Merlin blushed, smiling.

“Tell me more about you,” Arthur said after a moment. “More than that you like George RR Martin.”

“I like lots of fantasy,” Merlin said. “I’m an IT specialist by day, amateur dom by night. I’ve lived in my current flat for three years and no one has ever confronted me about my window habits before. And right now I’m on the first real date I’ve been on in over a year, and I’m a little nervous.”

Arthur grinned. “Don’t be nervous. I’m perfectly nice. Unless you want me to be mean.”

Merlin laughed. “Is that a direct quote?”

“I think so.”

“Good memory, indeed.”

Arthur knocked his foot against Merlin’s again, enjoying the way Merlin blushed again.

“What about you?” Merlin asked.

“I work in marketing. I’m not anything by night.”

“Except horny,” Merlin said, just in time to be overheard by the waiter bringing them their food.

 

~~~~

 

After dinner and dessert, Merlin invited Arthur back to his flat for drinks. Arthur agreed and wasn’t at all surprised when, instead of getting him a drink, Merlin kissed Arthur as soon as they were inside his flat.

“Thanks for dinner,” Arthur murmured as Merlin kissed up his jawline.

“Yeah,” Merlin breathed. He flicked his tongue out against Arthur’s ear, and Arthur tightened his grip on Merlin’s sides. “My pleasure.”

“Pleasure?” Arthur asked, sliding one hand down to cup Merlin’s cock through his trousers.

Merlin tugged on Arthur’s lower lip with his teeth. “I can’t believe you can see into my window.”

“I most definitely can,” Arthur said. “I fantasised about the strange naked man in the window tying me down and having his wicked way with me.”

“I guess that means you liked what you saw?”

“Yeah,” Arthur said before pulling off Merlin’s shirt. He traced the lines of Merlin’s pecs and then slid his hands around to hold onto Merlin’s back as he leaned in for another kiss.

“What do you want to do?” Merlin asked when they pulled apart.

“Hm?” Arthur fumbled with Merlin’s belt, desperate to get him naked.

“Do you want, like, cuffs or anything, or do you just want to—”

“Whatever you want,” Arthur said as he undid Merlin’s flies.

“I want a lot of things,” Merlin teased. He took a step back and lifted off Arthur’s shirt. “Mostly I want you.”

Arthur grinned. “You can tie one of my hands down,” he offered. “As long as you leave one free so I can touch you.”

Merlin kissed Arthur, hard, and then led the way to his room. They both striped, and Merlin guided Arthur to lie on his bed. He got out the leather cuffs from the living room cupboard and strapped one of Arthur’s hands to the bedpost.

“Good?” Merlin asked, double-checking the buttons were firmly secured.

Arthur gave a firm tug, still loving the idea of not having access to both his hands, of not having complete control.

“Good,” he confirmed.

Merlin crawled on top of him and leaned down for a kiss. He rocked his hips, their dicks pressed together, and Arthur grabbed Merlin’s arse with his free hand.

After a minute, Merlin slid down Arthur’s body to get his mouth around Arthur’s cock. Arthur grabbed hold of Merlin’s hair and sighed as Merlin licked him thoroughly everywhere.

“Merlin,” he moaned when Merlin sucked one of his balls into his mouth. “Jesus.”

Merlin did the same with his other ball and then turned his focus to the tip of Arthur cock. He flicked his tongue against Arthur’s slit, and Arthur whimpered a little.

Just as Arthur was feeling the tension starting to ramp up, Merlin sat up and replaced his mouth with his hand.

“God, you’re good at that,” Arthur said.

“At what?”

“At not letting me come right when I want to.”

Merlin smirked and ducked back down to suck on Arthur’s cock. Arthur arched into it, but Merlin pressed down on his hips, holding him in place.

“Merlin,” he said when he felt it building again. “Come here.”

Merlin looked up. “What?”

“Come up here.”

Merlin moved up and gave Arthur a kiss. “What’s up?”

“You were having all the fun again,” Arthur said, reaching for Merlin’s dick.

Merlin huffed and went in for another kiss.

Arthur wished he could roll over and have his way with Merlin, getting him worked up, getting his cock in his mouth, getting him right to the edge before pulling back and teasing him. Then he pulled against the leather cuff and was reminded that he also really, really liked being tied down.

“Okay,” Merlin said after Arthur’s hand drifted down to tug on his balls.

“Okay?”

Merlin rolled out of reach for a second before settling himself on Arthur’s thighs. He grabbed Arthur’s free wrist and held it down on the bed, rendering Arthur immobilised again. He rocked his hips, his cock sliding against Arthur’s, and Arthur groaned.

“I’m going to come if you keep doing that,” Arthur warned.

“Me, too,” Merlin sighed, moving faster.

Arthur got his hand free and reached for Merlin, pulling him down for a hard kiss. Merlin, propping himself up on one elbow, reached down between them and wrapped his hand around their dicks, aligning them more and thrusting into his own fist.

“Fuck,” Arthur moaned at the extra friction. “Merlin, I’m—”

Merlin sat up and let go of himself to focus on Arthur. He wrapped his hand around Arthur’s cock right as Arthur started to come and jerked him through it until Arthur was shuddering under him from the overstimulation.

“If you untie me, I’ll give you a blowjob,” Arthur said, still catching his breath.

Merlin chuckled. “Don’t know how I could say no to that.” He cleaned off Arthur’s front with a tissue before climbing off the bed and unlocking the leather cuff.

Arthur flexed his wrist and then pushed Merlin down on the bed. He leaned down and got Merlin’s dick in his mouth, sucking on it roughly.

“Jesus,” Merlin moaned, both of his hands tangled in Arthur’s hair. “Slow down.”

Arthur pulled off and looked up at Merlin’s flushed face. “You like it slow?”

“No, but I’m like five seconds away from coming, and I’m trying to enjoy this.”

Arthur smirked and started licking slowly around Merlin’s cock, enjoying watching Merlin struggle not to tip over the edge too soon. He licked around the tip of Merlin’s cock, then the base, and then his balls. He spread Merlin’s legs and licked around his arse, too, which made Merlin moan. He carried on for as long as he wanted, thinking about how he was going to tie Merlin’s hands down the next time he did this.

“Arthur,” Merlin breathed when Arthur finally moved his mouth back to Merlin’s dick.

“Yeah,” Arthur said before kissing his way down the underside of his cock.

“Please.”

Arthur reached up and pulled Merlin’s hands out of his hair, holding them down on the bed instead. Merlin gasped and tried to get his hands free, but Arthur held them tight. He leaned back down and sucked Merlin’s whole dick into his mouth, working his throat, and Merlin came within seconds.

“Ah, ah, ah,” Merlin huffed when Arthur started licking around his cock again. “Ah, stop! Dragon!”

Arthur chuckled and pressed a kiss to the tip of Merlin’s cock, making Merlin twitch.

“How was that?” Arthur asked before dragging his tongue alone the seam of Merlin’s balls.

Merlin got his hands free and pushed Arthur’s head away. “You know exactly how it was.”

“Would it hurt you to pay me a compliment?” Arthur teased.

Merlin rolled his eyes. “It was fucking perfection, your highness.”

Arthur laughed and lay down next to Merlin, draping an arm over his stomach.

“What do you think Gwaine will do when he finds out about us?” Merlin asked after a moment.

“Laugh,” Arthur said honestly. “He won’t care.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. I’m sure he’s got plenty of other options lined up.”

Merlin smiled and lifted Arthur’s hand up for a kiss. “I’m glad you messaged me on that site.”

Arthur rested his head on Merlin’s shoulder. “You know, I don’t think I would have if I hadn’t seen you wanking in the window. Or if Gwaine hadn’t mentioned that you tied him down.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I’d never really considered it before he said something… and then I happened to see you in the window that same day, and I guess you inspired me.”

“What a strange series of events.”

Arthur snuggled closer to press a kiss to Merlin’s cheek. “I’m glad we found each other.”

Merlin wrapped his arm around Arthur’s shoulders. “Me, too. Do you want to sleep?”

“Hm. Maybe.”

“Maybe? What’s the alternative?”

“Doing all of that again in a bit,” Arthur said.

Merlin smiled and tugged Arthur closer. “That’s a good alternative.”


End file.
